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Over the years, it turns out i've developed one of my own (although i guess it could fall under #2)...Today as I pulled into my client's parking lot, i was "greeted" by the client's dog. Since i'm deathly afraid of dogs, i put the word "greeted" in quotation marks, because i don't feel that being left to fend for myself with a strange dog is exactly a welcoming gesture. I've "met" the dog before, but i couldn't remember his name, so pulling myself together, taking a deep breath, without much thought at all i switched into a gear that i've taught myself over the years...i opened the car door and said, in a very calm and soothing voice, "Hello Pooky..." (I call all dogs that i don't know their name, "Pooky.") And in a sudden moment of a light bulb going on, i realized that in my attempt to "psyche the dog out" (because i've heard they can sense fear and i was trying to portray calm friendliness), I essentially psyched myself out, and hearing my own calm voice, i soothed myself.Now, i realize that i'm not deathly afraid of my mother-in-law, but she's definitely not my favorite person. And i can't exactly say, "Hello Pooky," to her, but i certainly can remember that soothing feeling that i gave myself by psyching myself out and hearing my own voice come out of me so calmly. I'm going to hang on to this one. Be the vision you want to be...

"Carol's progress is steady. We feel she should practice control of her giggling." -4th Grade

Carol is a psychotherapist in private practice in New York City. She's been doing this forever - and still loves it! How many other jobs allow you to listen to fascinating stories and help solve problems? Oh, yeah, I guess she could have been a detective (can't shoot, hates sneaking around and besides, they can't tell people what to do - oh, right, she doesn't either...)

Seriously Speakingwhat she enjoys most about her work is being part of a process of transformation and learning.